Kobe On Getting Old Kobe Bryant turns 30 on Aug. 23 - the day before the gold medal game. He said that he doesn't feel like an old man just yet. "I feel younger this year than I did last summer," Bryant said. Asked why, Bryant said, "I have no idea. I'm fine wine, baby."

Bryant did express some disappointment that he won't get to celebrate his milestone birthday with his daughters, Natalia and Gianna, who will be in the United States. "That'll be my first birthday away from my kids - obviously, since they've been born. Those are sacrifices we've made for our country," Bryant said, adding that it's good that he likes his teammates. 'They become your extended family. This is the summer where we make sacrifices, our families make sacrifices, in terms of being away from home and us banding together as brothers."

"The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and differentsun."

"You have to understand, I love L.A., I love being our ambassador, I love bringing people together," he said. "It's funny, but I guess it still feels like I'm playing point guard, but in a different way, doing stuff more meaningful than winning."